Warnings: boys' love! 8018 3 …and I have still spelled Hibari's name Kyoya instead of Kyouya… Nope, I haven't fixed it
Rating: T (rated for even more romantic behavior, plus the usual pinches of violence and bad language – can't be avoided, really)
Chapter summary: Yamamoto is acting strange… He seems to be even happier than usual and distracted and suddenly very busy all the time. Suspicious, Tsuna and Gokudera decide to investigate! They feel certain there is a girl in the picture and are determined to find out whom.
Disclaimers: I don't own KHR (if I did, Yamamoto would be teaching Tsuna to swim in every episode!)
Author's waste of space: Reviews! Thank you so much, I didn't think I'd get any at all, so it made me really happy. And some people even added this to their favorite stories and story-alert! Seriously, thanks, you guys made my day!

I feel I should explain a couple of things here before we begin, even if a lot of you will already know this:

Shoes and slippers: At the entrance of Japanese schools there are rows of shoe lockers where the students and teachers keep their indoor-slippers – you don't go inside with your shoes on, you just don't. And the doors are (nearly) always sliding doors.

Purikura: the purikura Tsuna and Gokudera are searching for in this chapter are photo-stickers made in the super-popular photo-boxes that you'll find everywhere in Japan where you can take pictures and decorate them. Couples, especially in middle- and high school, always have purikura of themselves together, kissing or holding hands, from various dates – and it's common for girls to carry purikura with them to give away to friends and such. So both Yamamoto and Gokudera, those super-popular guys, would in reality have received tons of these already.

And… no, that's it. I tried to write this chapter a little funnier and more like an episode than the 1st (Tsuna's inner thoughts included and all), though I did a miserable job at that, he-he ;D
Now, read (andenjoy)!

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:+:+: Chapter 2 :+:+:

Of Tsuna and Gokudera's search for the secret identity of Yamamoto's secret girlfriend…

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"Tsuna! Hey, Tsuna!" a boy Tsuna vaguely recognized as one of Yamamoto's team mates came jogging towards him. "Have you seen Yamachin?"

"Yamamoto? Err, I think he went –" Tsuna lifted his hand to point, but found that his vision was suddenly blocked by a solid wall of white gym shirts and baseball jackets as no less than 8 more of Yamamoto's friends from baseball suddenly appeared.

"Hi, Tsuna," called some of them, others: "let's go already, come on!" and "did you find Yamachin?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Gokudera was suddenly there, stepping up in front of Tsuna and waving his arms in a fashion as if he were trying to chase away raccoons from a trash can. "Give the 10th some space, 'stupid jocks!"

"Crowding, are we?" in spite of the ruckus made from the baseball guys chatting and shouting to one another and exchanging insults with Gokudera, everyone there fell silent at once and, as one, turned to find two of Hibari's thugs glaring menacingly down at them. They were huge!
Sporting their yakuza-like hair styles and the black uniforms of the Disciplinary Committee, they looked very intimidating indeed and Tsuna felt his shoulders stiffen as he prepared for the worst. 10 on 2 weren't nearly enough, he thought, and he wondered if they would beat him up as well even though he hadn't really said anything.

But then something odd happened. One of the thugs suddenly seemed to have remembered something important and shoved an elbow none too gently into his partner's side. "Ouch, what are you –" But the first guy simply gave the terrified looking group in front of them a very pointed look, eyebrows raised in a meaningful way.

Tsuna didn't get it at all, there was nothing unusual about any of them – and they really were crowding and being noisy – but the thug who had just gotten elbowed seemed to get it, though.

"…You guys in the baseball club?" he asked reluctantly. Trembling violently all over, one of the boys who were already fully dressed for practice nodded timidly – or perhaps it just looked that way because he was shaking.

The two thugs exchanged glances that, again, looked very meaningful, and began to argue, or maybe discuss something rapidly in hushed voices. Tsuna could only make out the odd word or sentence of it and he was too scared, just like everyone else there, apparently, to do anything but stand frozen to the spot as the two of them went on, presumably discussing their fate.

"He said no –…baseball-club… uniforms? "
"But… such an eyesore! …crowding…!"
"…no means never… want to get your ass kicked? "

That seemed to settle it. The two of them turned back to the group and, with smiles that looked very forced and yet somehow still very frightening, the first one said: "ah, ha-ha, so sorry, our bad!"

"Carry on," the other said. "Just keep it down!" he added with a sneer. And with that they simply stalked past them without as much as a backwards glance, lashing out randomly at a few innocent onlookers standing further down the hallway as they went.

Tsuna, Gokudera and the baseball guys stared after them. "That was… bizarre," muttered Gokudera. The baseball guys exchanged glances, all looking very clueless. And then Yamamoto appeared, looking energetic and cheerful as ever.

"Oh, hi guys! Tsuna, Gokudera, were you all waiting for me?" he flashed them all a big grin. Then, "err, what's wrong? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?"

They looked at him for a moment in silence before all the baseball guys started talking at once. "The Disciplinary Committee came –", "they were huge!", "– but then we told them we were in the baseball club –", "– they left, just like that!" "– so huge!"

"Ha ha, that was nice of them!" Yamamoto didn't seem to get how big of a deal it was at all. "Alright!" he clapped his hands, "no time to waste, team! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" These words of encouragement and the prospect of getting to play baseball seemed to snap everyone out of their trance and in the blink of an eye the baseball guys had formed ranks behind Yamamoto and were jogging purposefully after him down the hallway.

"See you guys later!" Yamamoto called over his shoulder; this was, of course, to Tsuna and Gokudera.

Gokudera shook his head, "…baseball-idiot."

"What do you think that was about, though," said Tsuna, half-way to himself. "I mean, Hibari's guys never go easy on anyone…"

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In retrospect, it all made sense, though.

"What's up with that guy lately?" Gokudera frowned and scratched his cheek in an annoyed fashion. It was Saturday and Tsuna and he had just ran into a very happy but flustered-looking Yamamoto coming out from the mall with his baseball bag slung over one shoulder and carrying a plastic bag printed in fancy, psychadelic colors.
"Usually he's like a bug and I can't get rid of him," Gokudera continued in a very matter-of-factly tone of voice, as if everyone else obviously shared this opinion, "but now-a-days I can't seem to get a hold of him. And what's up with the shoes?" he added suddenly, as if he'd only just thought of it.

"Shoes?" Tsuna didn't follow.

"Yeah, didn't you see what was in the bag? That shop's really expensive, too." Gokudera knew this because he himself got all his shoes from there. "…tch! How the hell could he afford to get anything from that place? They don't even sell running shoes there. Baseball-idiot that he is…"

Tsuna looked thoughtful for a moment. He wasn't sure how to properly phrase his next sentence, but it was something he'd thought about a lot lately. "You don't reckon he's got, you know… a girlfriend, do you?"

Gokudera opened his mouth and looked like he was about to laugh out loudly, but then he closed it again and seemed to consider the suggestion seriously. "That is… entirely possible, actually," he said finally.

"Umh, shouldn't we call him first?" suggested Tsuna uncertainly. "Tell him we're coming…?" They were standing by the entrance to the sushi restaurant. Tsuna was stalling. It didn't feel right going over to spy on Yamamoto like this. Gokudera, on the other hand, looked positively ecstatic. "No problem!" he said confidently, "and, anyway, it won't be proper spying if he knows we're coming!"

He said it…! We're really spying on Yamamoto! Gokudera grabbed him by the hand and lead the way through the shoulder-height drapes and into the restaurant. A few scattered tables were occupied by costumers who sat together in twos and threes, conversing in quiet voices. Yamamoto's dad was nowhere to be seen.

"Excellent," whispered Gokudera, "now's our chance!"

Tsuna couldn't help but feel a little excited himself. Ignoring the puzzled looks they were getting, they snuck hurriedly through the restaurant and through the door in the back, half-hidden behind a new set of drapes, which lead to the main-house where Yamamoto and his dad lived. They shut the door behind them and momentarily leant their backs against it, took a deep breath and gave each other a determined nod. Neither of them called "hello" or "sorry to intrude" as they tip-toed further in…

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Though it looked old fashioned and very Japanese from the outside, the main house was actually quite modern and western-inspired with shiny wooden panes on the floor, a big staircase and doors that opened outwards.

They listened intently for signs of life and Tsuna could hear the faint noises of people and cooking coming from the restaurant behind them and the traffic going by outside, a small bird was singing to itself and somewhere on the second floor a TV was on. Gokudera heard it, too, and mutely he pointed a finger upwards. Together they walked softly towards the big staircase in unspoken agreement.

And very nearly collided with Yamamoto!

He was coming out from the kitchen holding a tray with two full glasses, which he only barely managed not to drop as he jumped backwards in surprise. "Ah! Tsuna! Gokudera!"

"Uwah – ! Ha ha! Yamamoto!" Gokudera tried – ungracefully so – to conceal his yelp of surprise as laughter. Tsuna blushed a deep crimson and waved his hand weakly. "H-hi, Yamamoto," he said, "h-how are you?"

Yamamoto looked bewildered for a moment and Tsuna wondered if he might get angry. But, soon enough, his face cracked up in his usual big grin. "Ahaha, what a nice surprise! I didn't hear you coming in at all!"

Tsuna opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Gokudera. "Yeah, ha-ha, sorry about that, your dad said we could go right in."

He's lying so easily… Tsuna suddenly became very aware of the two glasses on the tray Yamamoto was carrying. Two of them, and they were full too, wouldn't that mean…? Could she be here? Now?

"Say, Yamamoto," he began, glancing pointedly at the tray, "do you have someone over? If it's a bad time, we could come another time. Wouldn't want to interrupt anything," he added hurriedly. He meant it, too, and he sincerely hoped Yamamoto would tell them to leave if he had a girl in his room. It would be too embarrassing…!

"Oh, you mean these?" Yamamoto looked down at the glasses. His cheeks looked suddenly very pink. "No, I, err, I'm alone. No visitors… Ahaha," he laughed, "I just thought I'd get two servings right away so I wouldn't have to go all the way down to get seconds! Lazy, right?" He grinned.

Yamamoto really doesn't lie easily at all, thought Tsuna with a smile. He liked Yamamoto's honest personality. It was so painfully obvious when he was telling a lie. Especially since Yamamoto was probably the most un-lazy person in the world – with the possible exception of Ryohei…

"Cool!" Gokudera didn't seem to have noticed anything weird at all. "Hey, let's go to your room!"

Yamamoto blushed again, but Gokudera was already half-way up. "Err, my room's a real mess!" he called out in what Tsuna reckoned was an unnecessarily loud voice. Oh man, there must really be a girl in his room and now he's trying to warn her…! Maybe this really was a bad idea.

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He didn't act it, but the truth was that Yamamoto was really spoilt. His room was very big with a western style bed that was much wider than Tsuna's, and he had his own TV and two video game consoles. Brand new ones, too. It was his TV they had heard, and Tsuna notice there were two Playstation controllers on the floor.
The room wasn't messy at all. There were just the controllers, a pile of clean clothes that hadn't been sorted yet, some school things and a bed that didn't look like it had been properly made that day. Aside from that though…

There was no one there, no girl, and no mess. Hmm, am I being over interpretive just because it feels like I'm spying?

Gokudera, too, scanned the room, chewing distractedly at his bottom lip as he did. He looked like he wanted to examine the desk. Yamamoto searched for the remote control and, behind his back, Gokudera took a glass from the tray and winked at Tsuna. He took a small sip, coughed loudly and then, deliberately, poured the rest of the contents down the front of his t-shirt.
"Aww, man!" he complained, tugging at his now wet shirt.

Yamamoto laughed, "Ahaha, Gokudera, come on, how old are you again? Wait here, I'll get you a towel!" He was completely oblivious to the insincerity of Gokudera's sudden clumsiness. He's so naïve…

As soon as Yamamoto was out the door, Gokudera flashed Tsuna a triumphant grin and headed for the desk, where he started shuffling through drawers at random, apparently not really sure what he was looking for himself. "Gokudera…" Tsuna began.

"Game plan, huh?" said Gokudera, sounding very pleased with himself. "I'm sure he must have some love-letters or purikura in here somewhere…" He took up a note book and shook it, perhaps hoping that something secret might fall out.

"Gokudera," hissed Tsuna, "I think she's here!"

"I- huh?"

"I think he's got his girlfriend here. Look," he pointed at the tray, "why would he bring two glasses? And he's got both the Playstation controllers out, too! Don't you think we should-"but here he was interrupted by Yamamoto's return, and the two of them bolted hurriedly away from the desk.

"Here you go," Yamamoto handed Gokudera a moist towel, but instead of taking it, Gokudera smiled the way he only smiled when he'd thought of something really clever and jumped to his feet. "You know, I'm good," he said cheerfully and strode towards the closet, "I'll just borrow a clean shirt from you! Ifyoudon'tmind," he added hastily, more out of habit than actual politeness.

Fast thinking!, thought Tsuna, feeling a little impressed in spite of himself. He completely forgot about his initial uneasiness for a second and stared intently at Yamamoto, looking for a reaction. There weren't really any other hiding places in the room, so if she was really here…!

Yamamoto's eyes widened as, surely, he was realizing the same thing Tsuna had just realized and he was on his feet in the blink of an eye. "Gokudera! You don't have to, ah…!" But it was too late. Gokudera was already reaching for the door and, in one smooth motion he had yanked the sliding doors aside, all the way up to reveal…

Clothes.

There was no one there.

Tsuna realized he had been holding his breath; so had Yamamoto, apparently, because they both breathed slowly out. Gokudera's shoulders sagged visibly. "I'll, err, borrow this one," he took out a random shirt from one of the shelves, "if it's not too much…" He sounded a little disappointed. Yamamoto continued to stare at the empty closet. He looked very confused. Biting his lower lip his eyes searched wildly around the room. When his eyes met Tsuna's, he blushed, grinned and laughed, scratching his neck awkwardly.

Tsuna sat down on the semi-made bed. The pillows were scattered and the cover-blanket looked like it had been yanked half-way off. The window was open and he had the sudden image of a dress-clad girl struggling to climb out in a hurry. He shook his head and turned instead to the collection of framed photographs on the low bookshelf next to Yamamoto's bed. He looked at them while Yamamoto and Gokudera argued about some game.

There was Yamamoto with his dad at a very exotic looking place, Yamamoto and his friends and team mates in various settings – both he and Gokudera were there – and his mother. He had seen all these pictures when he'd been over before, and he'd known at first glance without anyone having to tell him that the pretty lady in that one picture had to be Yamamoto's mother. They had the same eyes and smile. She had passed away almost 6 years ago, and Tsuna wondered if Yamamoto still thought about her a lot.

And then there was one photo with no people in it at all. It was a picture of the sky on an overcast day. He couldn't remember if he'd seen that there before. He studied it, searching for shapes in the clouds, lost in thought.

No pictures of any girls and no purikura. Not even a girl cousin or Kyoko or Haru, of whom it wouldn't really be strange to have pictures, considering how much time they all spent together now. Perhaps the girl had just left or was going to come by afterwards or something. It's probably a really fresh relationship, he thought, and they just don't want to tell people yet. That's ok. Gokudera and I really ought to beat it. He could vividly recall every time he himself had happily jumped at the chance of spending some alone-time with Kyoko, only to be interrupted again and again until they ultimately and inevitably ended up being the same crowd as usual.

He of all people should have the decency to –

And then, suddenly, a strangely familiar song started to play…

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"Miiiidori tanamikuuu, Namimori nooo…"

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The room fell silent. Yamamoto froze in mid-movement, his jaw clenched, eyes suddenly very wide. He looked like a deer caught in the head lights of a big, unstoppable truck. Tsuna imagined his own face must look very similar. That song! It was the school anthem of Namimori middle school, and there was only one person in the entire world who would have that song as a ring tone – because it was definitely coming from a cell-phone, that much he could tell by listening.

And the sound was coming from… Tsuna's eyes descended slowly down to the mattress he was sitting on. It came from under the bed! Hibari! Hibari's cell-phone was under Yamamoto's bed!

Yamamoto's head whipped around to where Tsuna was sitting, staring down in horror at the bed. Looking up at Yamamoto he could clearly see the millions of thoughts flying through his brain. How on earth would he explain this?!

Next to Yamamoto, Gokudera was looking up in the air at nothing in particular with an expression of puzzlement and distaste. "Man, I hate that song! Is that coming from your cell?" It didn't seem like he'd picked up on where the sound was coming from at all. He didn't even glance at the bed.

Yamamoto's laughter sounded awkward but very relieved. "Ahaha, yeah, got to show some school pride, you know!" he said quickly. "Ha-ha!" He cast Tsuna a half-pleading, half-warning look and pretended to roam through his pockets in search of a cell that wasn't there.

Somewhere underneath Tsuna there was a faint shuffling, the tiny jingle of a phone-strap, a click – and then the song ended abruptly.

"So uncool," continued Gokudera, perfectly oblivious. "You should hook up with Hibari – "here Yamamoto blushed violently again, "– he's got it for a ring-tone, too. You could make a club. Plus," he added, "He's taught that pet-bird of his to sing it. Haven't you heard?"

"Err, yeah, ha-ha, cute bird," stuttered Yamamoto, still bright red in the face.

Tsuna glanced at the photographs again, eyes lingering on the one with the overcast sky on it…

"Hey, Yamamoto," said Gokudera suddenly, as if he'd just thought of something, "what happened to your cherry blossom?"
"My what?" Yamamoto's eyes kept darting back and forth between the bed, Tsuna, who was sitting on top of it, and Gokudera, who had turned his attention back to the TV. A few tiny drops of sweat glittered at his temples.
"Your cherry blossom. You had a whole bucket full of them last time I was here."
"Yeah, I, err, not everybody likes them, you know," muttered Yamamoto weakly. His cheeks looked very hot. "Weird, huh…"

Yeah, like, someone who got sick from them once, maybe? Tsuna remembered how Hibari had suddenly abandoned the opportunity to kick their asses once, after that time when they'd fought against Mukuro, just because he suddenly seemed to have discovered how many cherry trees there were on the school property. Someone who was beaten and then locked up in a room afterwards because the cherry blossom made it so he couldn't move… someone like that wouldn't want cherry blossoms around.

Wow…wow! Oh man! Hibari, the secret person hiding in Yamamoto's room was Hibari, under his bed. This bed! I'm sitting on top of Hibari Kyoya!

"Who doesn't like cherry blossom? Everybody likes them. Oh look, a feather!" Still clueless, Gokudera picked out a tiny feather from where it had been stuck in the seaming of the shirt he had just borrowed from Yamamoto. It was very small and bright yellow.

Hibari's bird! Doesn't he get it…?

"Hey, Gokudera!" he jumped out of the bed, quickly and suddenly as if he'd burned himself on it, and grabbed Gokudera by the shoulder, yanking him up. "We really ought to get going! See you later, Yamamoto!" And without further ado, he bolted through the door, leaving a very baffled-looking Yamamoto behind. Down the stairs they went and out into the restaurant, where they almost crashed into Yamamoto's dad who was balancing a stack of dirty plates on one arm.

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"Why, hello guys, long time no see!" He grinned like his son. "Takeshi's in his room. I think he's still sleeping, but you're free to wake him up, he-he!"

He doesn't know about Hibari either! Tsuna smiled his most polite smile and said, "oh no, we couldn't possibly. We'll just come back later! Have a nice day!"

And then, finally, they were outside in the sunshine again. And Hibari hadn't chased after them like some homicidal ogre from a nightmare and Tsuna thought that his chances of making it through the day alive had just gone up a notch.

"Aww, talk about pointless trip," said Gokudera with a yawn. "No secret stuff, no hot pictures, no over-the-top cute plush toys and no one hiding in the closet… I'm starting to think he doesn't have a girlfriend! I mean –"seeing the look he was getting from Tsuna, he interrupted himself, "what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

He didn't… He didn't get it! I guess being clever at school doesn't automatically make you clever with people. Tsuna suddenly couldn't help but laugh. "You are even denser than Yamamoto sometimes, you know that?"

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"Well…" Yamamoto slumped heavily down on the floor by his bed and leant his head all the way back until it rested on the mattress. He sighed heavily and gave a small chuckle. "That went well." He cocked his head sideways and spoke through the mattress, "wouldn't you say? You can come out now, Kyoya," he added. Hibari crawled out from beneath the thick cover blanket, his hair looked messy and his cheeks were pink.

"I thought they'd never leave," he muttered darkly.

"Do you think…?" Yamamoto paused, unsure of what to say next. "What do you think they…thought?" he finished sheepishly.

"I don't care," said Hibari, yawned, and flashed Yamamoto a self-assured sideways smirk. "And if those weak fledglings so much as give me, or you, an odd look I'll bite them to death. Forget about them, I want to play more Playstation."

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Later, just before he fell asleep in Yamamoto's lap he murmured, "You'll have to change your ring-tone, now, you know."

Yamamoto and… Hibari? No.

Tsuna decided, in the end, not to tell Gokudera what he thought he might have discovered. Because, once he wasn't sitting mere inches away from the highly dangerous and unpredictable Hibari anymore and didn't have to listen to Yamamoto's ridiculously bad lying; once he had calmed himself down a little and thought it through for a while, alone, he realized he was being unfair.

There was no doubt it had really been Hibari there – but that didn't have to mean… Tsuna had been so sure they would find a girl, or at least some clues that there really was a girl, that he figured his judgment might very well have been a little clouded by that. Because he thought he already knew what he'd see, he reasoned, he might have sort of subconsciously decided to perceive everything he saw to fit that image – or something like that.

There was probably some good explanation – or an explanation, anyway – as to why Hibari would be in Yamamoto's room, hiding under his bed.

Not that Yamamoto might not still have a secret girlfriend, Tsuna still very firmly believed that he did, but it didn't have to be Hibari. It probably wasn't. It couldn't be! It was very hard to see how someone as popular and cheerful and warm as Yamamoto could possibly get involved with Hibari, who was so… well, the scariest, most selfish and by far most mysterious person Tsuna knew.

No. No, no, no… impossible.

What on earth could two people who were so different possibly get from a relationship with each other?

He didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't help it.
Hibari, though he looked like hell had spat him out when he fought, had that cool, pale beauty so many admired and strived to achieve – the perfect Japanese beauty, he thought. He had thought that once before, when they were in the future, and Hibari had appeared one night dressed in a simple black kimono, holding Gokudera's crazy box cat in one hand. The curve of his slender wrist, and the white skin on the back of his hand looked like something they might read about in Japanese class, about the Geishas or something.
Yamamoto, on the other hand, looked like he could be doing Calvin Cline commercials…

They would undoubtedly – and he still tried very hard not to think about it – make a stunning couple.

"Hey, 10th," Gokudera didn't bother taking off his shoes as they entered the school building. "It's already past eight; couldn't you just come in early tomorrow?"
"No," Tsuna was careful to change into his indoor-slippers. Old habits, and all that… "I won't have time tomorrow. I'll study all night if I have to," they headed for the stairs leading up to the 3rd years' classrooms. "Reborn says he'll have my head if I score lower than 60% and, knowing him, I'll be lucky, actually, if that's all he takes. And knowing me," he added somberly, "I'll be even luckier to score over 60…"

Suddenly, as they were nearing the classroom, Tsuna halted. He reached out and, placing a hand on Gokudera's chest, made him stop too. There was someone there! Someone inside their classroom was breathing heavily and they could hear soft moans and shuffling. It sounded, it sounded like someone was making out…

Gokudera looked at him, cocking his eyebrows. They had to see, hadn't they?

Giving each other a determined nod, they bent down and crawled on all fours the rest of the way to the classroom, careful to make as little noise as possible. That was when it struck Tsuna and he thought he might just know who it was in there, because there really weren't a lot of people at school this late. Could it be Yamamoto and…? With a sense of foreboding Tsuna leant forward to peek through the slight gap in the sliding door.

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And there they were, the two of them, easily recognizable, and Tsuna had been right. They were silhouetted sharply against the soft dirty-orange light from outside.

Hibari sat on top of a desk, his head thrown back. He used one hand to help himself sit upright; the other was tangled firmly in Yamamoto's unruly black hair. Yamamoto was leaning over him, one hand resting at the small of Hibari's back, pressing them closer together, the other was down the front of his open slacks, moving rhythmically. He was kissing Hibari's neck, licking his jaw and extracting small moans and sighs of pleasure.

Next to him, Gokudera's mouth was agape. Tsuna shot him a warning look and shook his head soundlessly. The last thing they wanted now was for Hibari's exceptional ears to pick up on them being there. Though he didn't want to, not really, Tsuna somehow found that he couldn't look away. It was as if reality was trying to hammer the fact into him that, as unbelievable as it seemed, as impossible as this couple was, Yamamoto was really in love with Hibari, and it appeared very much as if the feeling was mutual.

Hibari pulled Yamamoto's shirt up and, leaning closer, he started to kiss Yamamoto on the stomach and hips. Yamamoto drew his breath in sharply – he sounded winded, panting as if he'd been running. He pushed Hibari's shoulders down until he was on his back on the desk, never ceasing to kiss and caress every available spot on the other's skin. There was a loud crash as the desk toppled over. Loose sheets of paper fluttered like snow through the air, and on the floor, Yamamoto and Hibari were on top of each other, their kisses becoming deeper and fiercer.

We have to leave, thought Tsuna. What if they decide to… do it here?

Yamamoto was on top, pinning down Hibari's wrists with both of his hands, sucking and biting gently on Hibari's neck, his lower lip and his ear. Hibari moaned softly.

Then Hibari was on top, knees on each side of Yamamoto's chest, their lips never parting as he yanked the front of Yamamoto's shirt open. Yamamoto pushed himself up from the floor, so that Hibari ended up sitting in his lap and, with almost desperate movements began to unbutton his shirt.

Suddenly, their kiss broke. Both of them looked flushed, with pink cheeks and disheveled hair, and both sounded like they were out of breath. Yamamoto's hands were still holding Hibari's shirt. They were looking at each other, and their gazes were so intense and tentative and meaningful, that only now did Tsuna feel like he was intruding on something truly private. He realized that both he and Gokudera were holding their breaths.

Yamamoto spoke in a thick voice. "Do you… want to go to my place?"

In the semi-darkness, Hibari nodded.

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Now it was Gokudera and Tsuna who gave each other meaningful glances, only the meaning of theirs was run! They crawled backwards as quickly as they could without making too much noise and, reaching the stairs, they got up and scurried down like a pair of cockroaches.

Tsuna ended up not sleeping at all that night. He realized, half-way home, that he had forgotten to change back to his shoes and wondered if Yamamoto and Hibari might notice and realize they had been spied on while making out in the classroom. Something about Hibari made him seem like the kind of guy who could smell it, or something, whenever something suspicious was up. Also, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Those two together… Come to think of it, he had never actually seen anyone make out before. Small pecks on the cheek and such, that he had seen, and done, too, but that was it.

They had moved so naturally together, even with their motions being so desperate and wanting, and Tsuna wondered if the oh-so popular Yamamoto had ever kissed someone before. He must have had plenty of offers. He couldn't think of anyone who would dare to kiss Hibari – he supposed this was a testament to Yamamoto's bravery.

And now they were probably at Yamamoto's place, continuing where they had left off. It wasn't that hard to picture, and Tsuna blushed.

.

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The next morning turned out to be even worse than he had imagined it would be. Even though he had been up all night, he hadn't been able to concentrate on his upcoming test at all as images of Yamamoto and Hibari together had kept flashing by behind his eyes. In addition to being super-sleepy to the point where it was all he could do not to fall asleep at his desk, the test was impossibly difficult and, worst of all, or at least by far most distractingly, Yamamoto was practically beaming...

He seemed to be in a particularly good mood, even for him, which, as always, rubbed off on everyone else as well, with the two exceptions of Tsuna and Gokudera, who also didn't look like he had slept much.

"Hey, Tsuna!" Yamamoto slumped down on the empty seat next to Tsuna. "Good morning, Gokudera! Boy, you two look really sleepy," he scratched his head. His face was one big grin. "Did you stay up late to study or something?"

Gokudera, who was sitting on Tsuna's desk glared at him. "Shouldn't you be sleepier than us, though?" he muttered darkly. It wasn't really a question. Tsuna blushed.

"Me? Ha-ha, no I just went with my gut-feeling as usual," replied Yamamoto, oblivious to the underlying implications. "Anyways, I gotta go talk to my coach! See you later!" Bouncing off the seat he disappeared through the classroom door, still grinning like an idiot.

"This isn't good," said Reborn. He looked grave.

"Why not?" Tsuna looked puzzled. "I don't see how you… Is this a mafia thing? Is it really a big deal?" They were in Tsuna's room. Tsuna sat cross-legged by the bed, and had just finished his story of how Gokudera and he accidentally had nearly walked in on Yamamoto and Hibari doing things, and how they, not so accidentally, had discovered Hibari hiding in Yamamoto's room just a couple of days before that. He felt it was a matter he needed Reborn to know about, and he also desperately needed to get it off his chest. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't the grimness Reborn had responded with.

"No, it really is a big deal," said Reborn. He sounded serious, but there was an undertone of exasperation there as well. "This is why I wanted to wait. Making a bunch of middle-schoolers guardians of the 10th… these things are bound to happen."

Seeing Tsuna's confused face he decided to continue. "You see, your guardians are hand-picked because, right now, they are perfect for their roles. I'm sure you'll agree with me on this." Tsuna's thoughts involuntarily wandered to Mukuro, who claimed he was only in it for a chance of ultimately taking over Tsuna's body, and Hibari, who was just as likely to kick their asses as the enemy's. "And I will admit their performances have stunned me, both in relation to you as the 10th, but also on the battle field. If they changed, however, they would no longer be fit to be your guardians. To put it simply, their rings would lose their powers, they might even shatter or refuse their owners, as you saw happen when Xanxus tried to take your ring, remember?"

"I remember," said Tsuna, but he still looked confused. "I still don't get it, though. Why would they change so much?"
"Think about yourself, Tsuna. When I first tested your potential with the Dying Will bullets, what did you do? What was it that kept you from accepting death?"
"I- that was… Kyoko," Tsuna blushed and the words came out as a mumbling. "I confessed to Kyoko."
"Yes and you were, what, 12? 13? And you couldn't let go because of her. Imagine now. You're 15 now, feelings like that only grow stronger, Tsuna."

He shook his head thoughtfully. "No. This is not good..."

.

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More wasted space…: please review (o^_^o) I promised myself I wasn't going to write that… But getting them just really made my day, so I'm writing it anyway! Oh, and chapter 3 is roughly half-done…